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What is your
current position?

At the moment, I work for the United Nations in
Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya. It’s famous for Nairobi National Park, the world’s
only game reserve found within a major city.

My position is senior budget and
finance officer with UN Habitat. I currently work with a team on a project called “Housing
and Slum Upgrade” in African, Caribbean and the Pacific.

How did you
find yourself there?

While I was studying for the CA qualification, I
worked with a firm in business services. I continued with CA firms
for a few more years, then got into corporates, where I worked as a finance
officer for a few companies, one of them a medical consultancy.

I had applied for a role with the United Nations
and within six months was fortunate enough to receive a reply that they were
interested in me joining them. My experience working in finance and administration for ten years in Sydney
and being an Australian CA was a huge plus-point in getting the job.

What does your
typical day look like?

My work on a daily basis, in a nutshell, involves
budgeting for various grants and funds received from donors. It entails extracting information and
generating expenditure reports from information systems, preliminary analysis
of the extracted information and reports generated, and highlighting any areas
of concern.

I need to
ensure that pledges, contributions and expenditures are both recorded and in
compliance with international public sector accounting standards (IPSAS). I
also monitor the status of voluntary contributions and ensure we meet the
reporting requirements of donors.

What do you
like most and least?

I love travelling and meeting new people, their
culture and society. I love to learn languages, so I have been
studying both French and Spanish at lunchtime classes provided by the United Nations. As for my
dislikes, I do not like to be idle and wondering what might be next.

Because the CA designation is known globally, it makes it easy to get a good job in any part of the world.Avani Shah CA Senior budget and finance
officer with United Nations

Kenya is an amazing place and it’s where I was
born and brought up. I had a wonderful childhood here, exploring Kenyan
beaches, wildlife safaris and mountains. I wanted my kids to enjoy the same. We got an
opportunity to go back to Kenya and we took it.

My husband, who is also a CA, now owns part of a huge company in the Kenyan
furniture industry. We share our childhood experiences with our kids and they
absolutely love it.

When you chose
accountancy, where did you expect to end up?

I had a vision of working
in a dynamic environment and travelling the world. I didn’t know exactly what
or where, but I’m delighted with how this has worked out.

Being a CA helps me to be confident when standing in a
room full of strangers giving a presentation. The CA designation shows potential employers you have
had a quality of education, with support and guidance along the way. Because
the CA designation is known globally, it makes it easy to get a good job in any
part of the world.

Would you
recommend an overseas posting?

Yes, I would definitely recommend an overseas
posting, as you get to work with many different cultures and in a committed
team environment.

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